1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an output apparatus for outputting image information such as characters and symbols, and more particularly relates to an apparatus to convert an input character code into an internal character code.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an output apparatus of this type utilizes a predetermined character conversion table for converting a character code sent from an external device such as a host computer into a corresponding internal character code. The character conversion table is an internal character conversion table for storing internal character codes in units of, e.g., bytes. In a printing mode, print character code data input from the host computer is converted into an internal character code on the basis of a character code system constituted by the character conversion table.
In a conventional output apparatus, character printing is performed on the basis of the character conversion table generated when the apparatus is powered.
In a conventional output apparatus, when printing is performed on the basis of another character code system, the output apparatus must be powered off, thus degrading operation efficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,931 discloses a technique for calculating input character codes to generate new character codes. However, strong demand has arisen for a further improvement.